Hold On to Me
by Surreal13
Summary: Peter wakes up in an unexpected place, in an unexpected situation. Gen cuddling fic.


Title: Hold On to Me  
Beta: Thanks to ericadawn16. I made a few changes after she read it; all mistakes are my own.  
Pairings: Mentions of P/E  
Characters: Neal, Peter  
Genre: Fluff, Humor (bordering on crack)  
Rating: G  
Warnings: None.  
Summary: Peter wakes in an unexpected place, in an unexpected situation.  
Notes: Written for a prompt in collarkink a million two years ago. Fluffy cuddling was the request, and I filled that. I did cut out a portion of the story that involved Jones discovering how cuddly Neal can be. I plan on making that into its own separate story. \o/

* * *

Warm breath tickled his neck, pulling him from a restful sleep. Peter grumbled at El for waking him up, and adjusted his body slightly so that so she wouldn't be breathing directly on him. She sighed and moved with him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. He was about to drift back to sleep when he realized something was just a little off about Elizabeth.

Instead of the soft curves of his wife, the person nestled against him was lean and muscular. Peter cracked his eyes open and realized with a jolt that he wasn't in his room. It took him another few seconds to work out that he was in Neal's apartment, on Neal's bed, with...

He rolled his head to the side and squinted down. Yep. That was the definitely his consultant comfortably snuggled against him, using his shoulder as a pillow. The always impeccably dressed Neal Caffrey was wearing rumpled clothes, his dark hair wildly askew on one side. The other side was mashed flat, and was plastered to his face. One arm was draped over Peter's chest, and his legs were tangled around Peter's.

And, judging from the moisture Peter could feel on his t-shirt, the younger man was drooling all over him.

For a brief moment Peter considered rolling Neall off of him and dumping him onto the floor. Then he dismissed the idea immediately; this was Neal's place, after all, and Peter wanted an invitation back. The younger man sputtered against him, the sound turning into a quiet snore. The final indignity came when Neal burrowed more closely against Peter, this time wrapping his other arm around Peter's.

Maybe. Maybe he'd want an invitation back.

"Neal," Peter said, and moved his shoulder gently, trying ineffectually to dislodge his partner from his side.

Neal grumbled something that sounded like, "G'back to leep, eter," and rubbed his cheek - and drool - against Peter's shirt before promptly drifting off again. Peter let out a long-suffering sigh. He was never going to work late at Caffrey's again, if this was what he'd end up with.

"Caffrey, it's time to get up," Peter said. Not quite the truth; it was just a little past four in the morning. He just wanted Neal to move off him. He was beginning to lose sensation in his left leg.

"No izzz not," Neal mumbled without opening his eyes.

"How do you know that?" Peter hissed softly. He tried to sound stern but he sounded hopelessly fond instead. This rare chance to see Neal so open and well...just adorable was something that he couldn't quite resist. Then Peter snorted to himself and rolled his eyes. It had to be exhaustion making him think such sappy thoughts.

"Internal clock," Neal responded in a sleepy but dismissive voice. He relinquished his hold on Peter just long enough to snag the edge of the blanket and drag a good portion of it onto himself. "Quit hogging the blankets and go back to sleep."

Peter fumed for a full minute. "Neal, you're cuddled up against me. I can't feel my leg," he finally said in exasperation.

"So? Wa'z t'big deal?" the ex-con asked.

That gave Peter pause. He couldn't come up with an answer to that. Well, aside from his leg. As if reading his thoughts, Neal politely untangled himself from Peter, and settled for just draping a leg across the older man's ankles. Peter let out another sigh.

The situation was odd, but when weren't things a little strange since Neal had come into his life?

Satisfied by the silence that he'd made his point, Neal patted him on the shoulder. "Night, P'ter." The ex-con found a slightly dryer spot on Peter's shoulder and was out again in a matter of seconds.

With a resigned huff, Peter ruffled the dark hair. A small grin spread over his face as he closed his eyes. Elizabeth was going to love this story.

**~fin**


End file.
